Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY.
The Integrated Graduate Program in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY.
Diabetes. 2018 Aug;67(8):1461-1470. doi: 10.2337/dbi18-0001. Epub 2018 Jun 24.
Diabetes is a complex group of metabolic disorders that can be accompanied by several comorbidities, including increased risk of early death. Decades of diabetes research have elucidated many genetic drivers of normal islet function and dysfunction; however, a lack of suitable treatment options suggests our knowledge about the disease remains incomplete. The establishment of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), once dismissed as "junk" DNA, as essential gene regulators in many biological processes has redefined the central role for RNA in cells. Studies showing that misregulation of lncRNAs can lead to disease have contributed to the emergence of lncRNAs as attractive candidates for drug targeting. These findings underscore the need to reexamine islet biology in the context of a regulatory role for RNA. This review will ) highlight what is known about lncRNAs in the context of diabetes, ) summarize the strategies used in lncRNA discovery pipelines, and ) discuss future directions and the potential impact of studying the role of lncRNAs in diabetes.
糖尿病是一组复杂的代谢紊乱症候群，可伴有多种合并症，包括早逝风险增加。数十年的糖尿病研究已经阐明了许多正常胰岛功能和功能障碍的遗传驱动因素；然而，缺乏合适的治疗选择表明我们对该疾病的了解仍然不完整。长非编码 RNA（lncRNA）的建立，曾经被认为是“垃圾”DNA，作为许多生物过程中必不可少的基因调节剂，重新定义了 RNA 在细胞中的核心作用。研究表明，lncRNA 的失调会导致疾病，这促使 lncRNA 成为药物靶向的有吸引力的候选物。这些发现强调了需要在 RNA 调节作用的背景下重新审视胰岛生物学。本综述将）重点介绍糖尿病背景下 lncRNA 的已知知识，）总结 lncRNA 发现管道中使用的策略，以及）讨论未来的方向和研究 lncRNA 在糖尿病中的作用的潜在影响。
